Madison - In the face of opposition from Republican lawmakers, state elections officials pulled back Thursday on their plans for how recall petitions can be distributed online.

The proposed move by the state Government Accountability Board came shortly before a meeting in which GOP lawmakers were expected to let Gov. Scott Walker decide how election petitions can be distributed online. Democrats decried that potential move as unfair because Walker could have blocked rules to make it easier to recall candidates just as they prepare to launch a recall effort against him.

The accountability board adopted a policy last month that Republicans said would allow recall groups to fill out the names and addresses of voters on tailor-made petitions they could email to the voters. The voters would then print, sign and date the petitions and mail them to the recall groups.

That would allow a faster process because the groups would not have to gather the signatures face-to-face, and the petition signers would not have to fill in their addresses.

But Republicans on the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules expressed serious concerns about that plan and signaled that it would force the accountability board to write administrative rules on the matter. Such rules need the approval of Walker, giving him the power to block them.

The committee was to vote on requiring those rules Thursday, but just before the meeting the accountability board's director, Kevin Kennedy, sent a memo saying accountability board staff would recommend that the board take a new position at its Nov. 9 meeting.

In the memo and his committee testimony , Kennedy recommended allowing only the voter and petition circulator to include residence information on the petitions.

"The concern that came out of the committee is one that I think the board can readily address," Kennedy said.

The policy still would allow petition circulators to distribute petition forms online and pre-fill out the forms with the names of the voters' municipalities, effectively maintaining current policy, Kennedy wrote. Because of the change, GOP lawmakers said they would not trigger a rule-making process that could further involve them and Walker.

Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), the committee's co-chairwoman, said Republicans opposed the original accountability board action because they saw it as a "significant departure" from the current practice.

The nonpartisan accountability board was created in 2007 to administer the state's ethics and elections laws. It is run by a panel of six former judges.

Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie), a member of the committee, said the accountability board was now coming in "with your tail between your legs" and bowing to pressure to from Republicans.

"I'm very concerned about what's going on here," he said. "This is extremely partisan."

Hebl said he was drafting legislation to exempt future administrative rules written by the accountability board from the need to get the governor's approval.

But Rep. Jim Ott (R-Mequon), the other co-chair of the committee, said it was proper for lawmakers to oversee how elections are run.

"What we're doing here is clearly within the bounds of our responsibility," he said.

The accountability board is also considering changes to a policy that lets universities include stickers on their student identification cards that would allow them to be used for voting.

A new law will require voters to show photo identification at the polls next year. University IDs would be allowed for voting if they include signatures and expiration dates and if they expire within two years of being issued.

The accountability board last month said schools could provide supplemental information on stickers attached to ID cards that would allow them to be used for voting. The legislative committee raised concerns about those stickers and also planned to require that policy to be written as an administrative rule that Walker could block.

But Kennedy said Thursday he would recommend the board allow stickers for signatures but not expiration dates. He said most universities are looking at issuing students a second ID as needed that is specifically for voting rather than attaching stickers to existing IDs. Changing all the existing IDs, which are complicated and used for many purposes, would be too expensive, he said.

About Patrick Marley

Patrick Marley covers state government and state politics. He is the author, with Journal Sentinel reporter Jason Stein, of "More Than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin.”

About Jason Stein

Jason Stein covers the state Capitol and is the author with his colleague Patrick Marley of "More than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin." His work has been recognized by journalism groups such as the American Society of News Editors, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors.